Hangar Flying For Kids

After a 40-year career in aviation, Dr. Charles Aybar wants to inspire the next generation of aviation professionals through a different kind of hangar flying: A series of books called Soaring Dreams.

A Ph.D., pilot, and recipient of the FAA’s Distinguished Medal for Promoting Aviation Safety, Aybar has already written 16 books in the series.

“Gen Z and Generation Alpha have enormous imaginations,” he explains. “Imagination leads to creativeness, and creativeness develops new products, new strategies, and new safety initiatives. My goal is to help students reach their dreams.”

But imagination and creativity need empowerment, he says.

He remembers he had very few teachers who “gave me empowerment — maybe one out of 100.”

“It is necessary to empower the next generation,” he explains. “Sometimes our society tends to oppress imagination and creativity — especially in the schools — but that is where new innovations will come.”

He decided to do that through fiction, he says, with his books reflecting his more than 40 years in aviation, which started when he was a kid himself and his dad would take him out to JFK to watch the airplanes.

“It was so exciting and I said ‘one day I’m going to be a pilot,'” he recalls. “And it happened.”

Several of the books feature Jake, a 9-year-old explorer who wants to learn more about aviation and space. In fact, the series starts with “Jake’s Skybound Beginnings,” moving on to “Jake’s Adventures To the Airport,” to “Jake Becomes An Astronaut.”

One book, “Jake’s Simulator Training Adventures,” shows Jake getting the chance to fly in a Level-D simulator. The book is based on a true story.

Aybar recalls a few years ago, he saw a young boy in a simulator and because of his experiences with at-home flight simulators and different types of video games, he was able to demonstrate the basics of flying, such as keeping the airplane straight and level and turning.

“This boy learned how to fly, and not by the seat of his pants, but by looking at his primary flight display,” he recalls. “He knew how to keep the airplane straight and level without anyone telling him.”

There’s also a book targeted at girls called “Elara Takes Flight.”

He said it was especially important to him to have a female-centric book as “women make excellent pilots.”

“Every woman I had the opportunity to work with was a shining star from the very beginning of their careers,” he said. “The stereotype that we have is slowly diminishing, but it needs to really be pushed further.”

Fueling the book series is Aybar’s experience in the aviation industry. After working as a pilot flying tours of the Grand Canyon to flying for an airline, he transitioned to working for a company that converted corporate airplanes into commuters. His next gigs involved working in sales with government contractors. Now he consults with companies on new technologies.

While the stories told in the books had been in his head for years, Aybar says he actually sat down and “put pen to paper” about a year and a half ago. Besides his aviation-focused books, he also has a series dedicated to finance and skating, which he has been doing since he was 18. He still works as a skating coach.

The books are available on Amazon, with Aybar noting that he does not have a website. The books also are available at Jumpstart Clearinghouse. While Jumpstart is a database of curated financial educational resources, it also carries his Soaring Dreams books.

Each book lists a number of resources where kids can learn more about aviation, such as the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). Each book also includes a glossary of aviation terms, as well as 50 or so questions, which give kids the chance to reflect on the lessons in the books.

“The books deal with lessons that are not just educational, but have moral principles because that is what’s necessary if you’re going to be a leader in this industry,” he explains.

Aybar hopes the books will lead young readers to ask their parents to take them out to the airport to watch the planes, just like he did when he was a child.

If a kid does make it to the airport, Aybar’s hope is that pilots will “have some empathy” and remember when they were kids.

“There’s so much wisdom out there,” he says, noting experienced pilots “should start to pass that along to the fledglings who are just coming up.”

He recalls as a young pilot he had the chance to fly with John Paul Riddle, the Riddle in Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, his alma mater.

“He had so much wisdom to share,” he recalls. “He had these great stories and it wasn’t just about him living the past over again. There were lessons that were learned and he would pass that information on. That’s the same thing I hope for the kids who make it to the airport — that they can speak to pilots, mechanics, or the guy pumping gas, and find out more about aviation.”

He remembers back when his kids were younger, he’d go to aviation conventions and talk to CEOs and presidents of companies, asking just one question: “I have teenage kids. If they are interested in the aviation industry, what can you share?”

He said the same lessons came up time and again: “You have to have integrity. If you’re going to be in this industry, you have to be above board. You have to keep your word. You have to stay focused.”

So many of the lessons gleaned from those already in the business “can add value so you don’t repeat the same mistakes,” he adds.

For more information: JumpstartClearinghouse.org, Amazon.com